THE

CHAPTER XIII

A LONG LEASE OF POWER

1878 TO 1891

HE last chapters have dealt separately with the most important of the lines of policy carried out by Macdonald after his restoration to power in 1878. From that time to his death in 1891 he held the premiership of the Dominion, and was, as no man had ever been before, or has been since, the determining force in the administration of the government and the development of the country. His countrymen, once having forgiven his greatest political fault, restored to him and renewed again and again a confidence almost unique in the history of constitutional government. During these thirteen years there were three general elections, in 1882, 1887 and 1891. Twice in that time the Liberal party changed its leadership in the effort to strengthen its position and make headway against him. Mr. Mackenzie made way for Edward Blake in 1880, and on the resignation of the latter in 1887, Mr. (now Sir Wilfrid) Laurier succeeded to the difficult post.

Change of policy, it must be said, was tried by the Liberals as well as change of leaders. Commercial union with the United States was brought forward as an alternative for the system of pro

tection which was the note of Macdonald's National Policy, and for a time the new cry seemed likely to catch the popular ear. Later, "unrestricted reciprocity" was adopted as a term less repugnant to Canadian sentiment. But change of leader and change of policy alike failed to displace the veteran of so many political fights, the skilful wielder of so many kinds of influence. Macdonald's name had become one to conjure with, and so long as he lived the Conservative party maintained an unbroken, though perhaps not wholly unshaken, hold on the country. This was due partly to the extraordinary affection and devotion that he inspired among his followers in parliament and the country; partly to his own consummate political strategy. Still more may it be attributed, there can be no reasonable doubt, to the fact that the country at large credited him with a deeper and truer insight into its real needs and aspirations than was ascribed to his opponents. The course of events since that time may be said to have amply justified this opinion. All the greater lines of policy which he initiated or directed have become fixed in the Canadian system. Protection to native industries-the so-called National Policy-was adopted in all its main features by the Liberal party on its accession to power in 1896, and has since been maintained with the minimum of dissent from any quarter. The Canadian Pacific Railway, once vigorously denounced as likely to bring

JUSTIFICATION OF POLICY

the country to ruin, has proved not merely one of the most successful of business ventures, an instrument of the first importance for the consolidation of the Dominion and an inspiration to the national life, but it has also been the parent of other vast enterprises looking in like manner to the development of the interior of the continent. The policy which he advocated both in England and Canada, of welding the whole empire together by preferential trade, has steadily grown, has been adopted by most of the greater colonies, has been put into actual practice by the Liberal party of Canada, and, in spite of serious obstacles arising from the commercial system of the mother country, seems to be making headway there also.

The main basis of his power, therefore, and of the hold which he retained for so long a time upon the confidence of the Canadian people must unquestionably be considered to have lain in his solid qualities as a statesman, his sound judgment in dealing with the present, and foresight in regard to the future. But these qualities, which fix a statesman's place in history, would scarcely have carried him successfully through his long administrative career had they not been supplemented by others equally rare: keen insight into human nature- a singular capacity for the management of men-skill in parliamentary tactics-naturally high spirits which made light of difficulties-fertility of resource in dealing with them when they

arose, and a personal liking for the political game, however perplexing and complicated it might become. No one knew so well as he the truth of his own saying that "Canada is a hard country to govern." When we remember that his cabinets, selected with a view to the representation of all important interests, contained Liberals and Conservatives-men not only of British and French birth, but with British and French prejudicesRoman Catholics and Orangemen-advocates of Irish Home Rule and keen opponents of that measure-men from provinces thousands of miles apart and with widely divergent interests-it is impossible not to admire the skill with which he drew and held them together in the early days of Confederation, before the national sentiment of Canada had as yet been consolidated.

That he did not fear to have strong men around him was amply proved in the selections made for his earlier cabinets. If this was not so apparent in some of his later ministries the fault may have lain, not so much in any fear of strong colleagues, as in the lack of material on which to draw. It must be remembered that he was bound to make his cabinets represent not only different provinces, but also different interests, so that his field of choice was often extremely limited. "Let the country give me good material," he used to say, "and I will give you strong cabinets." Indeed no small part of his success was due to the care he used in

SIR GEORGES ETIENNE CARTIER selecting colleagues of ability and in giving each an adequate opportunity for the exercise of his special talents. So, also, the devotion felt towards him by his followers sprang largely from his loyalty to them through the many vicissitudes of political life, and the recognition which he was always ready to give to meritorious service. No doubt the strongest of the men who came around him when Confederation was established had already been marked out by public opinion in their different provinces as natural leaders. But it was the most signal proof of Macdonald's ruling ability that the leadership assigned to him in 1867 among this group of powerful men was at no time questioned and was steadily maintained and confirmed in the long series of succeeding years.

Of the men who assisted Macdonald in working out the confederation of Canada and securing the large results which flowed from that epoch-making measure, three at least demand special mention in any biography of their leader, however brief, both for the weight which they brought to his councils, the length and importance of their service, and the loyalty of their allegiance throughout life to himself and to the national ideals which he and they held in common.

Circumstances had drawn him at an early period into close alliance with Georges Etienne Cartier, and it was the coöperation of the two men which